Submitted

The Kenan Center and First Presbyterian Church of Lockport present
a talk by author, lecturer and professor of Christian spirituality Lauren
Winner at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, in the Kenan Center
Taylor Theater, 433 Locust St., Lockport.

Publishers Weekly
has called Winner: "A writer of spiritual substance and grace-filled style."
Richard Rohr, a member of the Franciscan order, and one of the most widely
recognized authors of books on contemporary spirituality, said Winner "opens up
Scripture in ways that are loyal to the Great Tradition and yet readable,
faith-filled and applicable to the world we actually live in."

Winner
is the author of the bestselling autobiographical memoir, "Girl Meets God" (2004), written in
her 20s about her conversion from Orthodox Judaism to Anglican Christianity.
Winner's breakthrough book has been described as "cliché-less," "winsome and
insightful" and "unusually challenging and satisfying." It established her as
one of the young voices in Christian writing.

She
went on to write "Real Sex: The Naked
Truth About Chastity" (2006), "Mudhouse
Sabbath" (2007), "Still: Notes
on a Mid-faith Crisis" (2013) and "Wearing God." (2015)

A
former book editor for Beliefnet, Winner has appeared on PBS's "Religion & Ethics Newsweekly" and
has written for The New York Times Book Review, The Washington
Post Book World, Publishers Weekly and Christianity Today. Her essays have been included in "The Best Christian Writing 2000" and "The Best Christian Writing 2002."

In
addition to her writing, Winner holds degrees from Duke, Columbia and Cambridge
universities, and a Ph.D. in history. She is currently an assistant professor
of Christian spiritualty at Duke Divinity School (North Carolina). She travels
extensively to lecture and teach. During the academic year of 2007-08, Winner
was a visiting fellow at the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton
University, and during the academic year of 2010-11, she was a visiting fellow
at the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale University. She was recently ordained
a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia.

The
Kenan Center and First Presbyterian Church jointly launched the speaker series in
2013 as a way to bring thoughtful discourse to the campus on wide-ranging
topics related to religion and faith. The center and church see the
introduction of the speaker series as a way to engage the community in
conversations with noted educators, writers and faith leaders on issues of
contemporary concern, taking the Chautauqua Institution as a model.

Tickets
are $10 general admission and $5 for students (high school or college) with ID.
Advance purchase is highly recommended, as seats are limited to 150. Tickets
may be purchased at the Kenan Center Business Office, 433 Locust St., from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays, or by calling 716-433-2617 to
charge by phone. Tickets will also be available at the First Presbyterian
Church of Lockport, 21 Church St.

A
reception in the Kenan House will follow at 5 p.m. A limited
number of Winner's books will be for sale. Winner also will preach the sermon
at the First Presbyterian Church at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 27. A coffee hour reception will follow.

A discussion of Winner's book, "Girl Meets God," will take place at 6:30
p.m. on Monday, Sept. 14, at the Lockport Public
Library. All are welcome.

Winner's program is the second in the Kenan speaker series with funding
from the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust.